FORTY-EIGHT Robinson Hall has undergone a complete rejuvenation in its old age. Where formerly the small group comprising the Scientific Fraternity were wont to gather together to talk over the private lives of microbes and the whys and wherefores of the gamma ray, finding the four bare cream colored walls a proper setting for such weighty discussions, nowadays the atmosphere has lost its austerity. Soft rugs cover the floor, a victrola lifts its head brazenly ofE in one corner, and three of the four walls are cheered by pictures. The fourth, opposite the door as we enter, bears the white, green, and silver shield of the room's newest tenant, the DEUTSCHER STUDENTEN VEREIN, which, if you don't happen to be skilled in these foreign languages, means simply The German Club.
Back in early October of the year nineteen thirty about twenty men gathered together in one of the spare rooms of Dartmouth Hall to organize a German Club, to be modelled upon similar institutions already existing in the French and Spanish departments. There they found waiting for them Herr Stephan J. Schlossmacher, a recent addition to the faculty, who was to take charge of the neophyte association, and whose ready smile and now famous black cigars found instant favor with the men present. The Club wasted little time going through the usually tedious process of organization; the second meeting, a week later, found a constitution already drawn up and awaiting its approval, which was given with relief. At this gathering William Conklin '31 was chosen the first president and F. L. Harms '31 was voted vice-president. By the end of the month headquarters were shifted from the inadequate facilities of Dartmouth Hall to the present roomy meeting place, and scouts were on the warpath for new furniture and other requisites toward making the clubroom slightly more decorative.
Just before the Christmas vacation, the Club staged its first public entertainment, and a hundred and fifty guests responded to its invitation to join in holiday celebration. Two short plays were presented, and followed by the singing of Christmas carols which made up in enthusiasm whatever melody may have been lacking. Refreshments were served up and the party did not break up until shortly before midnight. Among the many guests at this first festival was the German Consul General from Boston, Kurt von Tippelskirch.
In the second semester Conklin gave way to Harms as leader of the club and the latter's old place was filled by A. C. Gerould of the junior class. Although a highly successful play was again offered late in the spring, the majority of the evening meetings were given over to lectures and informal talks presented by the members and often illustrated by lantern slides. Mr. Schlossmacher in particular offered the Club interesting as well as informative material in discussing student life in the German universities, and the meetings, originally scheduled for every other week, were doubled because of the variety of the programs at hand. The Club finally voted to join the Interscholastic Federation of German Clubs, and since then has been signally honored in the appointment of Mr. Schlossmacher to the Executive Council. Late in May the VEREIN journeyed forth to Villa Clara for its spring outing where Dr. Schilling of Manchester was the guest of honor at a banquet that was in accord with the German tradition of good food. At the final meeting of the year, in which F. R. White 's2 and M. Leich '32 were chosen as the directorate for the coming semester, the Club had a chance to pause and take stock, discovering much to its own surprise that the membership had increased from the original two score or so to the astonishing number of eighty-six men, many of whom were only beginners in the German language, but eager to take part in the activities of the VEREIN.
Upon their return to college the next fall, the members of the German Club were greeted by the welcome news that the Club's outstanding work the year before had won it a regulation niche among the campus organizations and an annual award of three hundred dollars from the College Trustees. Cheered by this token of recognition, the VEREIN set about to maintain the reputation it had established and presented two plays before the Christmas vacation, replacing its usual Christmas dramatic program with an informal offering of songs and sketches. During this term "the cap and stripe" idea, adopted from similar schemes in student fraternities of Germany, was permanently incorporated into rihe rules of the Club. The German Club cap, a nattily brimmed affair which an envying campus promptly dubbed "the admiral's bonnet," can be obtained by any members who wish to purchase it, but the white, green, and silver band, worn across the chest, is awarded only to those men who have in one way or another, distinguished themselves in the service of the Club.
The activity of the second semester centered about the Goethe Centennarial celebration and in commemoration of this event Clavigo, one of Goethe's unforgettable plays, was presented and in addition a reception was held for Professor Kuhnemann of the University of Breslau who was in Hanover for a series of lectures in connection with the life and works of this great German poet. President White had given way at midterm to Harry Litzenberger '3a of gridiron fame, and the latter's reign at the head of the Club proved so successful that another pigskin warrior was chosen for the first semester of the new year in the person of Ward Donner '33. Jim De Haven '33 was selected as vicepresident.
Now nearing the close of its third year on the campus, the VEREIN can well afford to pat itself on the back. Although the youngest of the language clubs in Hanover, it has far outdistanced its competitors in both activity and membership. Indeed the latter problem has long been a source of difficulty to the Club, for it has been swamped by membership applications, and fears to go beyond its present size, lest in the process of enlargement it should lose the spirit of comradeship which is now a feature of the group. Fortyfive of the present ninety members have already won their honorary stripes, and officials of the VEREIN are planning to make entrance slightly more difficult to make sure that only those men who are genuinely interested will be able to join.
Naturally in its three year progress, the Club has prospered accordingly, and the clubroom is a constant source of wonder to the original members who still recall the first meetings in Dartmouth Hall. The VEREIN boasts its own library and songbooks, and the radio-victrola, though still a favorite, has been largely supplanted in use by a piano. When the business meetings are brief the stringed quartet occasionally supplies the group with a varied assortment of musical entertainment, but for the most part the informal meetings are given over to singing, the old German stein songs in particular finding favor with the students, whose imaginative ability along these lines seems to be very vivid. Mr. Schlossmacher has also organized a German Club eating table at the home of C. H. Dudley 'Ol, where a group of ten men dine with him daily to the tune of strictly German conversation, and where you can only be served with a second portion of that delicious "Apfel-strudel" if you know how to ask for it properly.
A great number o£ the clubroom possessions have come about as a result of kind contributions from the numerous outside friends the Club has made. Consul General Kurt von Tippelskirch has shown a lively interest in the Club's activities since its organization, and many of the books -in the library are a token of his generosity. Frau von Tippelskirch too has concerned herself with the VEREIN'S programs and in fact journeyed to Hanover to take part in one of the more recent plays. Mrs. Clara Engelhardt of Milwaukee, Dr. Schilling of Manchester, and Professor Kuhnemann are also numbered among the Club's benefactors, but there is one lady right here in Hanover whose aid has proven invaluable time and time again. This is Mrs. Albert H. Washburn, wife of the late United States ambassador to Austria, who proved a friend to the Club when it was merely fighting for recognition and who, since then, has volunteered her services at many important engagements.
In its relations with the student body as a whole, the VEREIN has had a chance to prove its worth only in the plays to which the entire College is always welcome, and thus this dramatic work takes on an increased importance. When we add to the general hardship of collecting busy students for any rehearsals other than the regulation Players shows, the natural handicap of presenting these productions in the German language, it is almost incredible to note the success which has marked these presentations coached by Mr. Schlossmacher. The acting has been far superior to that found in the average amateur play, and the audience, many of whom were unable to understand the precise meaning of the German words, found no difficulty in following the thread of the story. Of particular note so far have been the performances of Conklin, Mundt, Brabbee, and Dieter Scholler, the latter an exchange student from Germany. Although it is difficult to single out any one play for special attention, I believe that Alt Heidelberg with its picturesque setting in a beer garden, with its gay, rollicking German drinking songs, and with its effective portrayals by Mundt and Brabbee was probably the most favored by its Hanover audience. Rivalling this in excellence was the ninth and most recent production of Gerhardt Hauptman's Hanneles Himmelfahrt.
Looking ahead, the German Club has already laid foundations for executing a number of ambitious plans. Cheered by the reception that greeted Zwei Herzen inDreivierteltakt and Zwei Menschen, it hopes to continue to bring to the Nugget the best of German cinema art. Working in another line, a group of the more musically minded among the members, led by President George Mundt '33, have practised together faithfully all winter, and have excellent prospects of becoming the dance orchestra aboard the steamship Bremen this summer, an opportunity that promises to be lucrative as well as entertaining. The recent signing of the beer bill has encouraged members to hope for future celebrations in keeping with the spirit of the songs they sing so often, and indeed plans for the spring outing are progressing with more than the usual enthusiasm. As this goes to press, the VEREIN is preparing to issue invitations to other German Clubs in New England colleges, both male and female, to come to Hanover for a revival of Hanneles Himmelfahrt, to be followed by a dance in Robinson Hall, if enough guests signify their intention of coming. Indeed it is remarkable to observe how far beyond its original narrow intent of merely "increasing an interest in the German language," the German Club has managed to go.
Whatever prestige the DF.UTSCHER STUDENTEN VEREIN has attained on the Dartmouth campus can justly be attributed to the work of Mr. Schlossmacher, its popular faculty representative. This is no trite compliment, for it is safe to say that only Herr Schlossmacher's untiring efforts have kept the wheels of the Club running smoothly on more than one occasion when interest threatened to bog down. He has had varied theatrical experience which has come in handy in his productions here at Dartmouth. But it is the colorful personality of the man and his boundless energy, rather than merely technical ability, which has done so much to increase the scope of this modern language club.
The DEUTSCHER STUDENTEN VEREIN has recently been reorganized to more nearly resemble a German fraternity and will hereafter be known as GERMANIA.
Members of the Dartmouth "Studenten Verbindung Germania"